To BPM or not to BPM?

Ever wondered whether your company should address their business processes? Many of you believe that managing business processes is a good idea, but it is too expensive. So, let’s look at some reasons to address your business processes.

My Thoughts…

Looking to contain costs?

The ‘ax man’ approach is likely to leave gaping holes in your business processes. BPM provides the management disciplines and the tools to surgically target problem processes and put them on the path to recovery. Improve your business processes and cut costs at the same time.

Looking to improve customer relationships?

Everyday we interact with companies – we give them the opportunity to meet or exceed expectations. Our experience with a company determines whether we will buy from them again or whether this will be a one time sale. Customer expectations management is a process that BPM is well suited to manage.

Looking for more visibility into your company processes?

Do your managers complain about the lack of visibility into their processes and projects? Do you have trouble identifying who or what is impeding your processes? Does it take hours to determine the status of a process? Have you hired a program manager to solve this problem? BPM software provides visibility.

Looking for more control of your business processes?

Are the cycle times of some of your high value processes taking too long? Are the people involved in the process spending too much time looking for information; looking for the descriptions of their next activity; determining the next person in the process; etc? BPM software brings control to your business processes.

Looking for improved agility?

Do you fear that your processes are not adapting to changing business requirements because ‘this is the way they have always been done’? Using BPM, a company is better equipped to switch gears and respond to its changing business environment – faster than its competitors.

Need to prove Compliance?

Facing regulatory requirements like PCI DSS, 21 CFR Part 11, OMB A-123, etc.? Facing audits from ISO, the DoD, etc.? Implementing internal practices like Lean Six Sigma? BPM software provides discipline and an audit trail.

Your Thoughts…

What would you change or add to the list?

Process Management – Keeping it Real!

BPM Creates Value

From a Ziff Davis Media Survey…

BPM provides a solid return on investment by decreasing costs, increasing revenue and improving agility.

Organizations across all market sectors are utilizing BPM as a technology to orchestrate and integrate end users, applications and data defined business processes. Companies are also using BPM as a management practice to support the continuous process improvement needed to drive market advantage, reduce cost and friction across all facets of the business.

More and more organizational leaders are realizing that business process management creates significant competitive advantage. Gartner states that BPM is one of the fastest growing segments in software and it is forecast to remain so during the next five years. Many organizations are now focused on making BPM a program, not just a project.

My Thoughts…

In previous blogs, I have defined a company as a collection of processes. The 80/20 rule applies here – 20% of your processes will provide 80% of the value. Since these 20% are key to your company, their inefficiencies will have a direct impact on your bottom line.

Without software, you can accomplish plenty.

Identify the key Processes – Document – Test [be sure you have documented them correctly] – Measure [before measurements] – Improve – Measure [after measurements].

Process management activities have a much smaller chance of success without management involvement. Many company leaders are realizing that business process management creates a significant competitive advantage.

With Software, you can do more – BPM Software provides control, visibility & agility.

Control – dictate how the process works; who performs what activities; how long do they have; what information do they need; what information will they create; etc.

Visibility – Quickly see the status of a process; where is it now; what has been done; what needs to be done; build reports; etc.

Agility – Change is constant. You must be able to quickly and easily change the process to meet current needs.

BPM Results – A solid return on investment by decreasing costs, increasing revenue and improving agility.

Your Thoughts…

Has your company identified their [20%] key processes?

Process Management – Keeping it Real…

BPM Project Success

In earlier blogs I have covered many topics. Some of them are key components of successful projects. In this blog, I will put them together as tips for BPM Project Success.

Most successful BPM Projects will likely include the following:

1) The 80/20 Rule – If you really could identify all of the processes in your company, it is most likely that 20% of them bring the highest value to your company. So, the first process to manage will be from the 20% group.

2) A Project Manager with enthusiasm, energy and empathy…

3) A Team to analyze, improve and test your solution. Make sure to get the ‘nay-sayers’ from your company involved so that they have some ownership of the solution.

4) A Champion with enthusiasm, energy and empathy to be the internal sales person for this project… This doesn’t have to be by title, it could be by respect.

5) Manage Complexity – Scope creep is a project killer. Just say no…

6) Manage Change – The Champion should lead this charge. Proceed with a campaign that says ‘change is good’ for you and the company.

7) Management Support – Most often management support guarantees success. If you proceed without it, you likelihood of success is severely limited.

8) Manage Politics – There is politics in most companies. Understand the political climate and attempt to work within that infrastructure.

9) Identify Success – How do you define success? What are the critical success factors? How will you be measured? What must you achieve in this project phase in order to roll it out to other processes?

Measure – Measure the current environment. After you have rolled out the new solution, measure that environment. You are looking for an improvement. This step is often overlooked because no one has the time to do it. Not only is it important to do this for this project, it will help you get approval for others.

10) Review – What did we do right? What did we do wrong? What should we change for the next project?

Your Thoughts…

This list isn’t intended to be exhaustive, just representative. From your experiences, what would you add?

BPM – Keeping it Real…

Change

From the All Business Website – 10 tips on Managing Change…

Change is a small word that can strike fear in the hearts of many. Yet life is full of change, especially in the business world. While those affected may not always get to decide when change happens, they can learn to manage it.

1. Don’t resist
2. Find the positive
3. Create a list
4. Familiarize quickly
5. Consider others
6. Focus on one change at a time
7. Exercise patience with yourself
8. Ask productive questions
9. Take control
10. Don’t get too comfortable

Managing change with peace and confidence is entirely possible. Keep these tips in mind, and you'll be well-equipped to work through any change that life may throw at you, in both your professional and personal lives.

http://www.allbusiness.com/management/change-management/11336-1.html

My Thoughts…

Most people don’t like change. It threatens their sense of control. It provokes fear of the unknown.

Like death and taxes, change is constant. Since it is inevitable, it is best to learn to accept it. Face these new challenges head-on. Focus on how you can make it work for you. You will feel empowered by your renewed sense of control when you stop allowing change to overcome you, and instead make it work for you.
How does change impact your company?

If your company isn’t growing, it is getting smaller. Change is the driver in each direction. If you are growing, you are getting more and more customers. Growth fuels changes in most of your departments – Sales, Marketing, Finance, Customer Support, etc. And, most important is keeping your customers happy.

If you are getting smaller, what are the changes that are allowing that to happen? What can you do to fix the problem? How will you face this new challenge head-on? How can you turn around this change? How can you turn it into a positive?

Your Thoughts…

What has been your experience with managing change?

Workflow vs. BPM

There seems to be some confusion between Workflow and BPM [Business Process Management]. They are not the same thing, so let me provide some simple clarification.

Workflow

Workflow has no logic. If a workflow product sends a task to me, when I am finished it goes to the next person designated in the workflow chart. It is a simple routing tool.

Workflow has no concept of logic/business rules.

Business Process Management [BPM]

BPM has logic. You may create if/then/else logic tables that will determine the next step. The next step could be routing, send an Email, run a program, etc. If I am working on a task, the next step may be defined by the actions that I take.
Basically, you may define the business rules that you would like your business processes to follow. Business rules allow you to: Determine who will perform an activity; What activity they will perform; How long they have to perform the activity; Who will receive escalation notifications; What steps they can add to the process; What information they have access to; Define what information is to be required; Etc.

My Thoughts…

Each has its place. If you are looking for a routing tool, then a simple workflow solution should get the job done. If you wish to manage your business processes and would like your company’s business rules followed, then look in the BPM arena for a solution.

[9kticw3sxp]

Technology vs. Problem

Chicken & Egg - Which comes first?

Problem First

Typically, a company spends money to solve some kind of problem. They buy a new computer because they are short of compute power; They buy additional disks because they are out of storage space; They buy new software because either they need more for a new employee or there is an application that they don’t have but need; etc.

Following this logic, the Problem comes first.

Technology First

Let’s say that I am a big believer in SOA [service oriented architecture] software. I will be looking to use SOA wherever possible. My answer to any and every problem is going to involve some kind of SOA solution.

There is an old adage that if the only tool in your toolbox is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail. With a technology first approach, you are walking around with a hammer ready to pound on anything. You could run across a Philips head screw – you have the option of pounding it in with a hammer or you could look at other technology, like a Philips head screwdriver.

My Thoughts…

I can’t stress enough that you must really understand the problem before thinking about technology. Reviewing problems with a technology approach will put you in a position to make compromises in your solution. And, a technology approach won’t allow you to really look at a problem from all angles - Angles where other technologies might comprise a better solution.

Many companies have adopted the tried and true ADCI process. ADCI stands for analysis, design, construction and implementation. Analysis should be done without regard for technology. In the Design phase, it is appropriate to look at alternative technologies to create your solution. Still, it would be wise to look at all technologies to see if a better solution is possible. Construction – build the solution. And, Implementation – Implement the solution…

Your Thoughts...

[9kticw3sxp]

BPM Delivers...

From a Gartner Article titled “Justifying BPM Projects”…

• Organizations had more than 90% success rates on their BPM projects
• Successful projects had no less than 10% internal rate of return
• 78% had more than 15% [a few ‘wild numbers’ exceeded 100%]
• 77% of the projects had returns greater than $100k per project
• 55% of the projects had returns in the $100k - $500k range
• 80% of the respondents felt an increase in competitive advantage

They point to 3 categories of results:

Efficiency – Eliminate manual data entry; Reduce process cycle times; and Reduce manual analysis and routing

Effectiveness – Handle exceptions faster and better; Make better decisions; and Consistent execution

Agility – Faster regulatory compliance; and Support new business models

My Thoughts…

The results of their survey aren’t surprising. I have actually seen a couple of the ‘wild numbers’ that they talk about.

Regarding the competitive advantage – I wrote an article on business process management a few years ago pointing out that your company’s business processes could be your competitive advantage. My expectations are that any improvements to high value processes could be your competitive advantage.

To me, all three categories above are pointing to increased employee productivity. If a company is more efficient, they should produce more goods/services with fewer resources. And, increased productivity can contribute to lower costs and higher revenues.

I know of at least one company where their sales people will bring in their prospects to show them how efficient their processes are. They use their efficiency as a customer benefit.

You can too…

Your Thoughts…